Home Built Farm Loader

Home Built Farm Loader TRACTORS Loaders 7-6-9 "I cut a K-6 International down to fit inside a medium-size Farmhand loader, then turned it around so the weight was over the drive tires," says Darrel F. Spader about the loader he built for use on his Fedora, S. Dak., ranch. "The drive tires are 11 by 24 and the rims came off a combine. It took some time to fit the rims to the truck hubs. The truck springs were left on. It needs heavy-duty springs to keep it from rocking when carrying a load. "The motor is a 223 Ford 6-cyl. with a 4-speed transmission which is connected to a 4-wheel drive transfer case from a 3/4-ton Dodge power wagon that brings the drive train back to the 2-speed drive axle on the truck. This gives us 16 forward gears and 4 in reverse. "We split the brake line to the drive axle and have a brake pedal for each of the drive wheels. When it is loaded, we can pivot on one wheel because the steering wheels are very light when carrying a load. We run a hydraulic pump off the front of the motor with a chain drive. If we were to build another one, we would make it a shaft drive with two universal joints. "It'll go down the road as fast as a truck. In the field we can carry big bales at 15 to 20 mph., sometimes even carrying two. It has saved us a lot of front ends on our tractors and is the best snow pusher I have ever seen. The cab is made of plywood." Spader figures he has about $1,100 invested in the entire machine.

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